02-24-2008, 01:25 AM
Polysemy is a Greek word that means ???multiple meanings.???
An English example:
???Mole??? is a small, furry burrowing animal (meaning A). It can also mean a blemish on the surface of the skin. (meaning B) It can also mean a spy who becomes part of and works from within the ranks of the enemy. (meaning C)
Why is Polysemy so important?
Different translators will choose different meanings when translating a word that is polysemous. If a translator in one region uses the first meaning for a polysemous word in his translation, and another uses the second meaning, we can ascertain the original language of a document.
The ???Mole??? Example:
Suppose three men in China are translating a book, and in their translations we find the following:
???Mary paid a lot of money to get rid of that annoying blemish.???
???Mary paid a lot of money to get rid of that annoying furry, small burrowing animal.???
???Mary paid a lot of money to get rid of that annoying spy.???
We can easily ascertain that the original language of that document was English. Even if Chinese propaganda 2,000 years later denies it.....claims that the document was always originally in Chinese, and besides there are no manuscripts left to prove we translated it.
An English example:
???Mole??? is a small, furry burrowing animal (meaning A). It can also mean a blemish on the surface of the skin. (meaning B) It can also mean a spy who becomes part of and works from within the ranks of the enemy. (meaning C)
Why is Polysemy so important?
Different translators will choose different meanings when translating a word that is polysemous. If a translator in one region uses the first meaning for a polysemous word in his translation, and another uses the second meaning, we can ascertain the original language of a document.
The ???Mole??? Example:
Suppose three men in China are translating a book, and in their translations we find the following:
???Mary paid a lot of money to get rid of that annoying blemish.???
???Mary paid a lot of money to get rid of that annoying furry, small burrowing animal.???
???Mary paid a lot of money to get rid of that annoying spy.???
We can easily ascertain that the original language of that document was English. Even if Chinese propaganda 2,000 years later denies it.....claims that the document was always originally in Chinese, and besides there are no manuscripts left to prove we translated it.